“Can a Christian lose his salvation and find himself in Hell?”

This is no idle question. In fact, it is the answer to this question that will undoubtedly sway a man as to whether or not the effort is worth investing one’s life into. For this reason we will examine, from the scriptures, what reasonable answer comes forth. As a beginning point, re-examine the verses above and keep them in mind as we move forward into this venture.

There are two camps within Christianity which agree in all points as to how a person becomes “saved’ (ie; born-again, regenerate, converted). However, where they part ways is in their interpretation of whether or not that “salvation” from sin, death and hell rests in the hands of an almighty and merciful God (eternal security) or the perseverant self-will of the person to refrain from sin (conditional security). Is salvation secure and eternal, crafted and managed by the irresistible will of God? Or is it a perfect work God sets in motion that humans must then walk worthy of in order to retain it? These are the questions we will examine here from scripture.

I mentioned that there are two camps of theology. Over history these groups have become titled as either Calvinistic or Arminianistic. As only a primer, we will take a very quick look at how each group represents the questions posed above.

On the one hand we have the Calvinists who believe that salvation finds its origin, execution and completion fully in the hands of a sovereign God. It is the will and predestined fore choosing of unmerited grace from the Creator, through the atonement of Jesus on the Cross, that both begins and brings to completion the salvation of His saints. God begins the work of salvation. God provides the grace necessary to secure that salvation. God cements into eternity the security of that salvation.

On the other side of this position are the Arminianists. These believe that the provision and grace via the Cross is an invitation to salvation which all men must equally decide for themselves whether to accept or reject. For those who choose to take hold of salvation, it is the arminianistic view that it is the responsibility of the “saved” person to then walk worthily of their profession or risk losing the salvation and become condemned once again as before.

Now that we are familiar with the questions and positions, let’s take a look at what the Bible (God’s Word to mankind) says about our circumstances. We will then revisit the two positions in this light.

“Can a Christian truly live holy enough to remain saved?”

As a man thinks within himself, so he is. C.S. Lewis once stated that every Christian is a practicing theologian. Christians are not called to have a “blind faith” that has no idea in what it places its hope. How a person believes, and why they believe in such a way, will have an effect on the way they handle themselves as the difficulties of being a Christian are met each day.

Let us begin with what we do know about life as a Christian. If we ask the question, “Do Christians commit sins?”, we can only honestly answer this question with the response, “Yes.”. Both daily reality and the scripture teach us this;

Romans 3:20
20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. 

1 John 1:6-10
6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 
8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 

Jesus stated that all the law and the prophets could be summed in both love for God and love for one’s fellow man. [Matt. 22:34-40] Any Christian with the Holy Spirit can take an honest look at even their best efforts and admit that they fall short of loving either God or their fellow man in the ways God has laid out in His Word. At given times Christians fall short of confident faith, and the Word teaches that what is not of faith is sin. [Rom. 14:23] 

Why do Christians sin? Out of moments of pride, selfishness, lack of love or obedience to God. However, unlike a non-Christian, it is no longer their nature to either persevere in sin or live comfortably in it. Because God places His Holy Spirit within Christians as a sign and seal that He has begun a work of salvation in them [Eph. 1:13-14], it is no longer the nature of a Christian to “practice” or “live in” sin. The Holy Spirit will convict a Christian that they are not in fellowship with God and their need to repent (turn away from their sin and turn towards God). During these periods, being out of fellowship with God is not the same as being rejected by God. It is comparable to a father disciplining or correcting his child, not a father who disowns his child from his home. [Heb. 12:7-12] It was by God’s enduring grace and Spirit that David was sustained in salvation, despite a period of sin regarding Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah. David was corrected and punished but was not cast away to destruction.

This dynamic is not present for non-Christians who, in committing even the very same acts, go on in their sin with no compulsion to reconcile or address their behavior. Even further, a non-Christian will find excuse for their sinful lifestyle and harden themselves to any general revelation from God that their acts are evil. [Rom. 1 & 2:1-15]

“If both sin, then how is the Christian different from the non-Christian?”

2 Corinthians 5
16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

The difference is two-fold. God has, through Jesus Christ, initiated both a new creation and a new relationship between Himself and those who live by faith. 

As already alluded to, the Christian has been given a new nature that desires to do the will of God. As seen in the verse above, the Christian becomes reconciled to God on the basis of becoming a “new creation”. It is this new relationship to God that sets the foundation for how the Christian relates to God.

Romans 7
6But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

2 Corinthians 3
6He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

The second difference for the Christian is that the relationship is no longer based on the Law (which links sin and death/judgment for all those who try to relate to God through it). Instead, the Christian relates to God based on His Spirit, which extends an adoptive relationship built on love, mercy and His faithfulness. The true Christian is permanently adopted by God as His child.

What all of this means is that there is now grace (unmerited favor) for the Christian to be considered blameless in God’s sight (through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross) but something even more. There is grace for this lifetime that the Christian is still living in a body that has all the same inclinations towards sin due to its fallen state.

For the Christian, there is grace extended apart from the Law;

Hebrews 4
14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

The non-Christian does not yet have this relationship of the Spirit, but is still relating to God under the Law. As the bible states;

Romans 3
19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

“Does that mean then that, once a person gets ‘saved’, they can sin all they want?”

Now we are getting back to the core of our original questions. For, as you remember, those of the Arminianist view state that a person’s salvation is only as secure as their ability to walk worthy of it. Too much sinning and God will revoke the salvation, canceling out an adoption that was intended to be permanent. This of course begs the secondary question; “Does a real Christian, by God’s Spirit, truly seek to live an unrepentant lifestyle of sin?” To answer this question, again we look to the Bible..

Galatians 3:15-29
15Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed,"[7] meaning one person, who is Christ. 17What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise. 
19What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one. 
21Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. 
23Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ[8] that we might be justified by faith. 25Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. 
26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Ephesians 5:1-11
1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 
3But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. 4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.[1] 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7Therefore do not be partners with them. 
8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord. 11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

In the first reference, the Bible states that once a covenant (agreement or contract) has been placed into effect it cannot be changed. Abraham was made righteous by way of faith, not the Law. In fact, the Law arrived 430 years after the covenant of salvation by faith (God’s promise) and the Law cannot change the original agreement of salvation by faith. Furthermore, the Law is unable to save anyone.. it in fact condemns all those who do not live up to it. What we see then is that keeping one’s salvation is not dependent upon “performance according to the law” but rather by “faith in the promise of God to Abraham”.

In the second reference we see both encouragement and warning. 

Encouragement to walk in accordance with the “new nature” of a Christian and walk in those ways which are pleasing to God. In such a way we show that God’s Holy Spirit is indeed within us, at work to conform our lives in accordance with His nature. In other words, it is the Christian’s pursuit of a holy life (however imperfect it may be) that shows his salvation has been wrought by God. It is not a performance of the Law to keep the saving work of God intact.

There is warning to no longer behave in sinful ways or else face wrath and correction from God. The Bible states that we (Christians) are not appointed for wrath, but unto salvation. [Rom. 5:9 & I Thess. 5:9] If a person continues in an unrepentant lifestyle of sin and lives with only fearful expectation of God’s wrath, it is outward evidence.. not that a Christian has lost his salvation.. but rather evidence that the person was never repentant or saved to begin with. In other words, the unrepentant lifestyle indicates that the Spirit of God is not within them and no saving adoption or regenerative (born-again) work has yet begun in such a person.

A truly born-again Christian (who is a new creation) has been sealed with the Holy Spirit and does not desire to live in a lifestyle of sin. It is against the nature of a Christian to remain in sin. “Committing” a sin is not the same as “continuing” in sin. A true Christian avoids sin out of love for God.. not out of fear of losing their salvation. For further clarification, the Bible states;

1 John 3
1How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears,[1] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 
4Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 
7Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 9No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

This passage lays out repeatedly the difference between a “truly saved, born-again” Christian and a person who is not. Much confusion arises when we look at people who “claim” they are Christians, yet their actions show they are in no way in possession of a changed lifestyle. They “continue in sin” and “go on sinning” with complete disregard to God. A true Christian may commit a sin, (and in their lifetime, many sins) but will each time have holy conviction and repeatedly repent away from his sin and continue to persevere and pursue a life that is holy to God. A true Christian uses God’s grace to please God, not to live a lifestyle of sin. 

Is there an example of a sinning Christian and non-Christian in the Bible?

Yes. As you read below, notice that there is a distinction made between those who are “inside” the church (Christians) and those who are “outside” the church (non-Christians).

1 Corinthians 5
1It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife. 2And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? 3Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. 4When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. 
6Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? 7Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast--as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth. 
9I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people-- 10not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. 
12What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you."

Regarding the sinning Christian, inside the church, Paul the apostle instructs the church in Corinth to not only disassociate with that man, but to “hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.”. The Christians may be unfaithful, God does not break the contract of salvation on His end. He does judge this man to physical death, but will have mercy on him to be saved on the day of the Lord. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Paul further instructs the church to have a different approach towards non-Christians, who are in the same practice of sinning. He states that Christians are to leave the judgment of non-Christians in the hands of God. In the meanwhile Christians are to share the way of salvation with non-Christians in hopes they may repent and be born-again. As for those who “claim” to be Christians, but do not live as such, Christians are instructed to refrain from fellowshipping with them in hopes of they will repent as well as to not infect the local church body with immorality.

“So then, can a Christian lose their salvation?”

We return now to our original question. The question is better stated, “Can a REAL Christian do anything to lose their salvation?” The answer is, “No.”

As mentioned before, much confusion arises in answering this because of two main reasons.

Reason one is that there are many who “profess” to be Christians, yet in reality are only religious people who do not walk in the Spirit because they do not yet have the Spirit of God’s love within them. Therefore they sin as often as they please with no conviction to repent and will even excuse their sinful behavior. Of such people the Bible states that, once knowing the way of salvation, because they spurned God’s desire to “sanctify” them (set them apart)..

Hebrews 10:26-29
26If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

There is no other sacrifice they can present to God other than the blood of Christ. A person in this situation has only one hope.. to truly repent of their sins and become born-again so that they may receive God’s Holy Spirit within them. Otherwise, a person who knows the way of salvation and rejects it (lives in unrepentance) has “insulted the Spirit of grace” and his sins remain upon him. In effect, a person who lives out and dies in a state of continually rejecting the Holy Spirit’s invitation to salvation and repentance has blasphemed and spurned God’s love. To die in this state is to have committed the one sin that cannot be forgiven, for forgiveness can only come through Jesus Christ. The person who rejects Jesus Christ to the end of their life will find no sacrifice to cover this decision.

The second reason for confusion is that, according to the Arminianist view, it is believed that we choose God and it is our continuing to refrain from sin that keeps us in a “saved” position. This is a slight, but grave, error being made to think our salvation lies in our own power.

As we’ll see from the Bible, it is God who is our complete salvation from beginning to the end. We are saved because of His faithfulness, not ours. If we understand this, then we don’t want to abuse his grace and chase after sin with our lives. Rather we resist, by the Spirit he places in us, the desires that are natural to our fallen flesh. Our resistance is not perfect, so He provides all the grace we need. But, again, we do not abuse His love, grace or mercy.

If we relate to God by way of the Law, we are dead in the water, literally. However, if we relate to God by way of His power to save us.. we are alive in His Spirit. It is a relationship, not a legal performance, which is our only hope for salvation.

Not abusing the grace of God;

Romans 6:1-18
1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 
5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- 7because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. 
8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 
11In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. 
15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Salvation begins with God and is completed by God..

Philippians 1
6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

1 John 4
18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 
19We love because he first loved us.

Ephesians 2:1-10
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature[1] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Romans 4:4-5
4Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

Ephesians 1:3-14
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he[3] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9And he[4] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. 
11In him we were also chosen,[5] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.

It is these and the rest of scripture that teaches our salvation begins with God and is completed by God. He extends His grace abundantly and is fully able to save. Salvation does not lie in the incapable fate of humans who cannot satisfy the Law. It is fully of God and only God will be glorified by our presence with Him forever. Christians will not enter heaven with anything to boast of in regards to their salvation.. the complete work will be one of God’s faithful love and Spirit, not the person’s ability or attempts to satisfy the Law.

Summation:

It can be said then, to clarify this issue;

 Truly born-again Christians walk in love (the spirit of the Law) because they are born-again.. not to become or stay in such a state. True Christians do not desire to attempt dismantling the saving work of God in their lives with unrepentant, lifelong sin.
 Christians will at times sin, but will always repent each time and “pick up their cross daily” as they are sanctified by God, not solely by their own ability.
 A person who does not repent (turn from sin, turn towards God), but only professes Christianity.. cannot lose what they never possessed. They cannot lose a salvation they did not have.
 A person cannot be “born-again”, “brought into life”, made a “new creation” and then repeatedly become “un-born-again”, “re-born-again-again”, return to their “original creation” and back again, become “adopted”, “un-adopted” or “re-adopted” as a co-inheritor with Christ.
 A person is either saved and that which God began He is able to complete in Christ Jesus or, they are as yet unsaved and remain in need of repentance and salvation no matter what profession they may make outwardly.

So then, there are the following groups of people;

CHRISTIANS:
These are those who are truly sealed with the Holy Spirit, born-again, who have a new nature which desires not only fellowship with God.. but seeks to live in such a way as to do those things that please God. They are given the grace (unmerited favor) to remain saved and be sanctified during this temporal life until called in resurrection to a perfect body that is free once and for all from sin. In the meanwhile nothing, not even their own sinful frailties at times, can separate them from the love of God. This group of people lives and rests in the grace and love of God.

Romans 8:38
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


NON-CHRISTIANS:
There are those who “claim” or profess to be Christian, yet deny its power and do not live a life of repentance. They do not have the Holy Spirit within them and, devoid of such conviction, live their lives out in continual sin. They are no better off positionally than anyone else who is unregenerate (not born-again) and in some ways are worse off since they operate under a false assurance of religion and spitefully abuse both the name and blood of Jesus Christ. This group of people still lives under the condemnation of the law and justice, destined to pay for their own sins unless they repent and take hold of God’s grace.

John 3:16-18
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.